Women’s Soccer

The Wildcats look like themselves again.

No. 22 Northwestern (10-3-2, 4-2-1 Big Ten) downed Michigan State (6-3-4, 2-2-2) 1-0 in East Lansing on Sunday behind an early goal from senior midfielder Niki Sebo and a return to the style of play that has been successful for the team this season.

Junior forward Addie Steiner flicked on a cross into the middle of the box in the 13th minute. The Spartans made a mess of the clearance, leaving the ball sitting invitingly in front of the goal for Sebo, who made no mistake with her finish to give the Cats the lead and bag her third goal of the season.

From there it was business as usual for an NU side which seemed to lose the script against an unrelenting Michigan press in a loss on Thursday night. The Cats stayed compact in the back and rarely were caught in difficult positions defensively after being carved open several times by the Wolverines.

As a result, the Spartans threatened sparingly despite taking 19 shots on the day. Michigan State used pacey play on the wings to generate crosses, but the aerial prowess of freshman defender Kayla Sharples and the aggressive play of sophomore keeper Lauren Clem prevented major chances from those balls.

Coach Michael Moynihan said the Spartans’ style of play was a better matchup for NU’s defense than Michigan’s physical, direct attack.

“Michigan State has a lot of pace, but they don’t play the same way Michigan does,” he said. “They knock the ball around a little bit more.”

He also was impressed with his team’s defensive presence after the loss of every-game starter Kassidy Gorman. The sophomore outside back took an apparent blow to the face against Michigan and missed this game, but the back line didn’t miss a beat in her absence.

When the Spartans did put shots on goal, Clem was sure-handed, strong and prepared between the pipes. Her seven saves on the day were a season-high en route to her ninth clean sheet of the season.

“We knew that they were going to cross the ball a lot,” she said. “My biggest focus was keeping the ball safe and out of the back of the net.”

With the defense reestablishing itself, the Cats were able to play on the front foot for large swaths of the game. They strung together passes, were decisive on the break and generally looked more comfortable building up after winning the ball.

Sebo said this composed version of NU is the true version of the team, not the one that struggled mightily against the Wolverines.

“We know we can pass the ball,” she said. “That wasn’t us on Thursday. That isn’t how we want to be.”

More success in the midfield allowed the Cats to feed Steiner. Beyond assisting on NU’s goal, the talismanic forward was a constant threat from all over the field, taking players on and playing clever passes in the final third that made her more impactful than her two shots on the day would suggest.

Steiner also spearheaded NU’s high press that made life difficult for Michigan State’s back line at times, forcing turnovers in dangerous places that then led to chances for the Cats.

It was a comfortable game for NU, one that saw the team get back to its preferred style of play and snap a two-game losing streak. Sebo, a team captain, said the importance of this game for the team’s confidence cannot be overstated.

“This win, it wasn’t the prettiest,” she said, “but we know we can play some good teams.”

Email: [email protected]